Fragile Moon
by Blueyedemoness
Summary: Even with Pitch Black gone his minions are still running amok; especially his Fearlings down in the Spirit World. Because of this MiM has summoned the Guardians to take them out, but with the Spirit World locked away there is only one person who has the key to open the gate: The Grim Reaper. But Death doesn't seem to want to help at all. BunnyxOc R & R please owo! Chap 4 up!
1. In Need of Death

Fragile Moon

Chapter 1: In Need of Death

* * *

**Author:** Yesss I made another fan fiction, and it's for Rise of the Guardians x3 Frankly I'm not so satisfied with most of the fan fictions in this section (most being the four or five I've looked at out of the filter for Bunnymund). Not only is the grammar not... particularly well in most of them but when I look up Bunnymund I usually find JackxBunny or JackxOc. Now there ARE BunnyxOc but when I looked at most of them I saw sues and/or very bad grammar that I could hardly stand. So I'm willing to put in my share of BunnyxOc that are decent owo b

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from Rise of the Guardians or Guardians of Childhood. The only thing I do own is this story and the Ocs that come with it.

**Special Note:** The place Death is introduced may perhaps be familiar to those who read this. I will say this right now that I do not mean to be offensive at all and that I do not wish to insult any of the victims or families of the victims. In fact I put it in as a remembrance of the event since its first year anniversary is coming up in a few months. May the souls that lost their lives rest in peace after such a horrific event.

* * *

"So, anyone mind telling me why we're here again?" Jack Frost asked as he leaned up against a pillar in North's home at the North Pole. Sandy, also known as the Sandman, shrugged his golden shoulders with a question mark of sand appearing above his forehead.

"Well whatever it is it better be important, I only have three or four months till Easter" Bunnymund said as he was painting one of his well known eggs.

"North wouldn't call us here just for nothing, it must be something urgent especially since he's been busy preparing for Christmas" Tooth said, fluttering continuously while giving orders to her fairies.

"Indeed Tooth is right" called the Russian voice of the man well known for being Santa Claus. The Guardians turned to give their attention to their, supposed, leader to let him speak. "We have urgent news from Man in Moon " the big man said.

"News? What news?" Bunny asked, his ears perking up

"About Fearlings. They've begun invading the Spirit World, harming and corrupting the spirits; gathering fear" he said gravely.

"Fearlings? What are those?" Jack asked, only hearing this for the first time and had no idea what they were talking about.

"They're some of Pitch's more well known minions" Tooth said, flying down near her fellow Guardians "But why would they be a problem? Pitch is gone" she asked.

"I do not know, but Manny says that Spirit World is in danger and that he needs our help, so that's exactly what we're going to do!" he said, nodding approvingly.

"Whoa whoa, mate. I don't have time to go to the Spirit World, Easter 4 months away!" Bunny said disapprovingly.

"That didn't stop you before when Pitch was around. Even then it was _three _days till Easter you helped out and helped protect kids" Jack said, as if questioning the bunny. Bunnymund looked a bit irritated

"That was good for the children here. But I, nor any of us, have any business down in the Spirit World, not our realm, not our responsibility" he said, going back to painting his egg. Usually Bunny wouldn't be so irritated or objective to helping destroy a potential threat but considering the stress of making eggs and making sure that none are cracked or get spoiled was a worrying experience. Besides there was a figure that he'd rather avoid who was at home in that domain.

"C'mon Bunny, where's your sense of adventure?!" North asked as he took the egg from Bunny's paws

"Yea Bunny it sounds like fun exploring a world we haven't been to" Jack said with a smile, actually a bit excited. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, have a break from making the eggs"

"Sorry mate, but no can do. There's still about 100 million eggs to make, besides shouldn't you be preparin' for Christmas North? You only have eleven days left" he said, getting even more irritated.

"Uh... hey guys..." Tooth started to say, making the argument cease when they turned their gaze to the half-hummingbird female. She pointed up and saw that the moon was showing

"Manny!" North said excitedly, glade to talk to his old friend one again. "We were just about to head to Spirit World" he told him. The moonbeams went upon them and talked to them in a language and way that no mere mortal could understand. "What...?" an image appeared on the floor where a shadow ghost was shown going through some portal and then it was blocked by some sort of door.

"Well this makes thinks a lot more complicated" Jack commented "How are we supposed to get in if it's been sealed off because of the Fearlings?" another image came onto the floor. There it was a hooded figure with a scythe that anyone could recognize with a glance. "Is... that who I think it is?"

"Makes perfect sense! Grim Reaper can get us through gate!" North said gleefully "Then we rid Spirit World of Fearlings" he added. Sandy nodded approvingly along with Tooth and Jack; the only one who didn't full heartedly agree was Bunnymund.

"And how are ya goin' to do that? The Reaper is known to constantly change places" he said, hoping that maybe they wouldn't keep going about this. But that wasn't the case with North's optimism

"No need to worry, we just have to know where dead come and we find" he said with a nod

"By doin' what? It's not like there's a tracker for this sort of thing" Bunny pointed out. Right when he said that the moonbeams shifted to the North Pole's globe where it shown into one spot. "... Alright point taken. But I still gotta get my eggs done so if you'll excuse me-"

"Oh no Bunny, you come with us" North interrupted before dragging the rabbit off to where his sleigh was. On the way the rabbit tried his best to babble about how he had no time and that they could do it without him, but it was all just static in the ears of his fellow Guardians. "Quit bellowing like baby and enjoy ride. Besides, we haven't seen Grim Reaper in long time!" he said with a hardy laugh. Eventually Bunny gave in with a sigh, there was nothing to change the old man's mind once he was set onto some thought process.

"Oh so this isn't your first date with death?" Jack asked, causing a rather uneasy pause, especially from Bunny, that made awkwardness fill the air before Tooth decided to speak up.

"We've had our fair share of interactions" she said, hoping to lighten the mood that was already a bit more quiet then it previously had. This cause Jack to be confused and made him wonder what Death was like and what exactly was the reason they had met him before.

* * *

When they had arrived the sun was already setting and the school was a mess. The doors were smashed and within was a mess of papers, dirt, bullet shells and blood. It was horrifying to think of what might have happened for they knew that if MiM had taken them there, then it meant that there was someone or some people dead. It was unfortunate that since it was an elementary school that meant that there was a chance that children were involved, children they were supposed to protect.

"We better go, no use standing and doing nothing" North said before he took the lead, with the others following behind him. The place was quiet, dark and very cold. It smelt dusty with occasional copper that anyone could identify. But it wasn't until Jack decided to look into one of the first grader rooms that the smell intensified so much he had to cover his nose.

"Oh... God" he said while looking at all the blood and shell casings, but oddly the smell of Death was still there.

"This... is not good" North said before the rest of them checked out the rest of the school. It all looked the same except some places there was blood and some places only bullet casings, but when they came to the end of the hallway that was when they met who they were looking for.

"Who dares trespass on this ground of Death?" asked the voice, echoing through the halls. Bunny's ears went up straight and was looking around with a slightly alert look on his face.

"Who wants to know?" Jack asked, having his staff ready to attack whoever was talking

"Me." said the voice which came from behind them where a hooded figure with swirling grey fog stood which almost made the winter spirit fire on instinct. The figure came closer and was revealed to be floating on something that lowered to the ground to reveal the height of the so called Grim Reaper. Jack did his best not to laugh

"Aren't you a little short for the Grim Reaper?" he asked, trying to make some sort of a joke since The Reaper only barely came up to his chest, but it was blatantly ignored.

"What is your business here?" was the question that was asked in a cold and harsh tone. There was a no nonsense in the voice, a person dedicated to their job.

"We need your help" North said

"For what help can Death give you? My job is to slay those who must die, a job that comes when you Guardians don't fulfill yours" this statement caused Jack to be taken aback. Guardians not doing their job? Why would someone accuse them for doing so?

"How can you say that?! We protect children with our lives!" Jack started to say, getting insulted because someone said that he wasn't doing his job properly. "We make sure they're safe and protected and happy! You couldn't POSSIBLY know how that works as the killer you are!"

"Jack, don't" Tooth started as she tried to make him listen to reason as Sandy, standing there in silence, looked down sadly. The spirit would not listen to the older Guardian of Memories and grabbed the cloak in an attempt to make his point.

"Jack, just calm down there, mate" Bunny told him, a bit concerned about how this would turn out, he didn't want anyone hurt.

"How can I when-" Jack started to say before he realized something. As he gripped the cloak he could feel something wet on it, something wet and sticky which caused him to quickly retract his hand to look at it. Even in the dim lighting he could tell right away that it was blood "What the hell did you do?" he then asked

"My job" was the answer he got. "As Death I must make sure that those who are supposed to die are killed. I pick up the pieces that you all neglect, especially the young ones". After saying that Sandy made a question mark with all sorts other pictures to ask what happened, which got the Reaper's attention. "Since you all are ignorant of the situation I'll tell you; there was a massacre here"

"Massacre? You-you mean people were killed?" Tooth asked, starting to get very agitated and moving around more than usual and looking around cautiously. The Reaper nodded, turning towards the back at the classrooms that were made a mess.

"Twenty six died, twenty were children" said the Reaper, causing a gasp from them, aside from Sandy, when they heard that twenty of their precious children were gone from this world.

"No..."

"Crikey..."

"That... can't be true. Who would do such a thing to sweet innocent children?" Tooth asked, sounding so heartbroken about it.

"I think I can guess" Jack said before he blasted ice to the person in front of them "You're the one who killed them didn't you?! The blood on your cloak, the fact that you're Death, it's obvious!" he said. He blasted some more ice but the Reaper kept dodging "You... You child murderer!" he cried, blasting once more to barely graze the face.

"What a child you are" was all that came out of a seemingly absent mouth, unaffected by the blatant attacks "if you think that those petty attacks would hurt me you are sorely mistaken" The Reaper added. That was enough to make Jack attempt to physically assault Death itself, but was stopped when Bunnymund grabbed the back of his hood.

"Hold your horses ya dill" he said "we're here for help"

"You want the help of a child murderer?! The Grim Reaper is just as evil as Pitch!" Jack asked, causing Bunny to instantly counter.

"_No one_ is as evil as Pitch, not even Death itself! So don't go talkin' about someone when you hardly know 'em" Jack was the most inexperienced out of all of them what the job of the Grim Reaper was while Bunny may have known it the best. He may not have known what the job entails it's Reaper to do, but maybe this was a way for him to find out. "We've got no choice. Now stop gettin' your knickers in a knot and calm down" he ordered. He let go of Jack who really looked like he was about to kill someone but did as he was told, even if he already hated the Reaper. He then turned to Death and said in almost a pleading tone "We... really need your help. We have to get to the Spirit World and stop the Fearlings from gettin' out and coming o'er here to the livin'. You're the only one able to let us through... please?" he asked

"I don't see why I should" was the answer, causing Bunny to look slightly disappointed even if he wasn't surprised by the answer. "The Spirit World is my domain and so I should be the one to eradicate this threat" Death added. It seemed like the Reaper was not willing to do what they were asking and before they could even start to counter the argument Death was already walking slowly into another classroom where the windows were broken to let the moon's light in since it had been a while since night had come into the sky.

"You need to understand. We would gladly let you do this on your own with how busy we normally are" North started to say as he walked next to the short figure, who looked to him. "But this is BIG. So big that Manny, himself, says that we all must work together"

"..." there wasn't an immediate response to what North was saying "MiM... told you all to come to me?" the question caused a nod from North and made Death look out the window to the moon. In order to reassure the large Russian put his hand on the small, almost bony shoulder.

"He wouldn't have asked if he didn't think it was so dangerous and risky that you couldn't do this yourself. Let us help" he said, hoping that there would be an agreement between them. But death just slumped the shoulders enough to have the big hands slip off before walking away from the window.

"Even if I did agree on this request I am unable to do so at the time" was the statement that was told next. "As MiM may have told you, the Spirit World has been locked up because of the Fearlings and their threat on everyone. Despite this a resident of the souls that were infected with fear had gotten out and is now infecting every souls it finds" The Reaper then turned to them while explaining the situation. "Before I can even think going to the Spirit World I must find this corrupted soul and purify it and any of the souls it's gotten into contact with, if they can be purified"

"How long will this take?"

"I don't know... I found one of the corrupted souls here, being possessed and killing children and adults alike. If I can purify it, perhaps I can get some clues"

"Then we help!" North said, jumping up with excitement. The Reaper blinked, expecting yet not expecting the reaction that Santa Claus was famous for having. "We find soul, we get clues and we catch Fearling infested soul and then we go to Spirit World"

"It's not that easy, you have to find the souls and souls are not easily seen especially to those who are used to being with the living, not the dead" Death started to say.

"In order for us to track 'em down we'd have to have a powerful sixth sense, right?" Bunnymund asked, knowing how this thing went.

"Animals are known to have a very strong sixth sense so..." Death started to say before briefly looking to Bunny and Tooth.

"Oh goodie we can put kangaroo on a leash and have him sniff out the soul we need" Jack said, chuckling at the thought of Bunny acting like a dog.

"What did I tell ya about callin' me a bloody kangaroo?" asked the Pooka, slightly irritated at being called something he wasn't. But even with the small bickering the teams were made; Bunny would be with North and Jack would be with Tooth. Death on the other hand...

"I'll go on my own" said the Grim Reaper before starting to walk out of the room without any of them having a word about it.

"Now wait, who said you got to go alone?" Jack asked, wondering why the 'evil' -as he saw it- Grim Reaper got to go alone.

"I did. Don't stop me or you'll get in my way" was the response but was stopped when Sandy grabbed the cloak and smiled. He was the only one not assigned to anyone and it would have been better if there were more than one in a group. Despite the objections Death itself may have had, one would be wise not to deny a request from the oldest Guardian. "Fine then, let's go" The Reaper said before leaving with the Sandman. Bunny sighed and knew that things were going to go this way and was the reason why he didn't want to come. The cold personality Death had... it was just something he couldn't deal with nor did he want to and it made him feel like he did something wrong. He knew Tooth told him it wasn't his fault yet he couldn't help but feel it as so and it made him so damn frustrated.

"Bloody 'ell... let's just get this over with" he said with a slight frown before he went to go search for some souls with North following. Jack and Tooth then went their way as well as the search for the corrupted soul that was hidden somewhere in the school.

* * *

"I really don't trust him at all"

"Who are you talking about Jack?" Tooth asked, wondering who was the topic of discussion at hand that came up so suddenly.

"The Grim Reaper of course! He kills for a living, right? Then why are we working with him?! He goes against everything I, WE, pledged to do when we became Guardians" The Reaper killed children while they protect them, it was so black and white it should be obvious who the bad one out of all of them was.

"Well everything dies eventually Jack, it's a fact of life even if we may not like it." Tooth told him. Her face drooped and looked like she was going to cry as she slowed down her pace of flying. "We cannot protect all the children no matter how hard we try and, in the end, those we can't protect die off alone" she added.

"And yet he does his job with little emotion, little care about anything about what he does or how the child feels when they die. He's what I envisioned you Guardians to be before I joined, serious and always doing your job by the damn book. I hate people like that"

"Well of course, you're the Guardian of Fun after all, you make sure people have a great time, someone serious would make you uneasy" Tooth said, trying to produce a smile. She didn't want to be sad while being with Jack, she had to be strong and optimistic, even in a sad situation like this. Thankfully Jack seemed to catch on and smiled a little, much to her joy

"You're right... you know maybe some of my winter magic can make Mr. Reaper have more fun and be less strict about everything" he said. It felt fun and it would be nice to get back at him after how he made him look like a total novice at fighting without even lifting a finger.

"Of course! Just as long as Bunny doesn't find out that you pulled a nasty prank or something. Oh! And you should know, Jack that the Grim Reaper is-" she was about to say before Jack cut her off with question

"Wait... why would Bunny care about me pranking Death?" he asked, causing Tooth to realize what she said and start fretting around.

"Huh? Did I say Bunny? I meant to say-" she started to say, trying to make some excuse before her golden feather went straight up while the rest ruffled in agitation. "Oh oh, I sense something uh... uh over there!" she said, pointing to the direction of the back of the school before taking Jack's hand and flying to where it was. Well whatever was on his mind would have to wait till all this was over so he could get some answers.

* * *

"Bunny, you sure we going in right direction?" North said as he was following the Easter Bunny around the school.

"Hey, I haven't done this in a while so I'm a bit rusty" he said, still a bit grumpy, which North could tell

"Look Bunny I know you did not want to come-"

"Don't even start with me North I just want to get this o'er and then go home and resume preparin' for Easter " he said. "It may not be as important as Christmas to most people but it's important to me"

"But you're not only one who thinks so" he said. The rabbit stopped and looked around, sniffing is nose and using his ears as a radar before they continued walking. "There are plenty of children who love Easter, maybe not as much as they love Christmas since it's better, but it's a close second! Remember Sophie? I saw how much fun she had with you almost year ago" he told him.

"True, the little ankle biter was a sweetheart about it all" he said with a fond look on his face and a faint smile.

"Yes... and yet I remember that there was still one more who loved Easter more than anyone else I know" he started to say and Bunny could almost bet he knew where this was going. "She loved it very much"

"Lofty isn't around anymore North, you know that... she's gone". Did he really have to go on such a sensitive subject? It was hard enough as it is and now old wounds were getting dug up again.

"She is still around and you know it"

"No she isn't. She left me and that was the end of it, she ain't ever comin' back and that's the truth... look just drop it North, I'm in no mood to talk about this right now-" he started to say before he stopped. The Pooka twitched his ears and started to look around cautiously "Somethin's up" he said, finally sensing something. There was then a blast and the sound of fighting "Looks like we found it" Bunny said before he and North raced off to where the blasts were coming from.

It was when they arrived they realized just what exactly they were dealing with, a soul of wavering darkness and glowing eyes. There were whispers and nonsense coming from it as if it was speaking in an unknown language while deflecting the attacks of both Jack and Tooth.

"North!" Tooth exclaimed, happy to see her fellow Guardians

"Bunny! About time to two of you got here" Jack said as he dodged attacks and tried to fire at the entity with no avail. "Me and Tooth found the soul, pretty good don't you think?"

"Don't go bein' a show pony now Old Man Winter" Bunny said as he began to fight with his boomerangs at the same time North got his swords out.

"Time for fun!" he said before he came into the fight. But even with all of them working together the hits were ineffective. All they were doing was hitting the shadows that grew stronger and bigger as time went on, the whispering and moaning getting louder and louder. This was annoying Jack somewhat which was why he sent a huge wave of ice towards the shadows that were making the noise.

"Stop" in a sudden movement the ice was cut off and Jack looked up to see the Grim Reaper upon it wielding the famous scythe. "Can you not see you are hurting the children?" Death asked them, as if accusing them of doing something wrong.

* * *

**Author: ** Yay I got this up x3 I'm excited for this series... even though I say that for all of my stories xD Again I hope this becomes another Curse of the Snake Demons scenario and I can't stop uploading the damn story xD Anyway leave comments what you think, it's much appriciated!


	2. May the Spirits Be Free

Fragile Moon

Chapter 2: May the Spirits Be Free

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**Author:** Welcome to the second chapter owo! Hope you all are enjoying this, I am x3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from Rise of the Guardians or Guardians of Childhood. The only thing I do own is this story and the Ocs that come with it.

**Special Note:** The place Death is introduced may perhaps be familiar to those who read this. I will say this right now that I do not mean to be offensive at all and that I do not wish to insult any of the victims or families of the victims. In fact I put it in as a remembrance of the event since its first year anniversary is coming up in a few months. May the souls that lost their lives rest in peace after such a horrific event.

* * *

The halls were very quiet except for the tapping of the Reaper's feet as Death and the Sandman went down the hallway. Sandy was naturally quiet since he did not like to disturb sleep and thus kept himself mute at all times. But even this silence was getting to him and made him slightly more uneasy than usual. Granted he knew Death would not hurt him, in fact it was the exact opposite. Even while acting cold, Death would help him out if they were ever in a fight; that much he knew hadn't changed.

But that was about all that remained familiar to him as the centuries passed. Of course even if Death did try to send word he wouldn't be the first to get wind of it; that was reserved for someone else. Not that it would ever happen, The Reaper had become just like Jack before he joined the Guardians; a lone wolf who liked to work by himself and would not want to join a group of people even if they begged him to. Just like how The Reaper was acting currently.

Sandy looked to the hooded figure, silent and very intent in finding the soul that was responsible for the whole killing in the first place. The walk was slow though that was to be expected when a person was about the height of a twelve or eleven year old child and, thus, walked slower.

Not wanting the silence to fill the air much longer Sandy tried to get Death's attention by doing some images of sand over his head. But since no attention or words were coming from Death's voice Sandy pouted slightly before getting in front and flashing images. One of which was a Fearling and a gate

"If you're asking if I knew about them before you all came to me I did. MiM wanted me to seal the gate and deal with the Fearlings inside but one escaped and I pursued. I was hoping he had enough faith in me that he wouldn't ask for you all to help." The Reaper said. Sandy shrugged and then went back next to Death as another silenced filled both of their ears. Eventually the Sandman made a few pictures of a Fearling and an orb "I have a vague idea where he is, I know he's around this school somewhere since this is where he died and killed so many. People who die suddenly or violently usually get stuck in the place they died."

Sandy blinked and then made a picture of someone talking with a volume up all the way and then pointing to himself. "You are the first and oldest of the Guardians, it would be rather rude not to answer your questions best to my ability" said the Reaper. That said then the Sandman showed pictures of the other Guardians around a small girl before she disintegrated and the figures looked sad. Though this did not change the lack of emotion in Death

"Be it that you miss her, she isn't coming back. She has succumbed to her fate even if no one else wanted it to be so..." The Reaper looked forward and turned a corner and, as it seemed, almost tripped on some of the debris of the school. Of course no sooner had this happened did both beings heard something being blasted at and the moaning that had been running through Death's head had intensified. "Dammit," was all that was said before the dark figured hurried to the source of the sounds, despite having a hard time trying not to trip, with Sandy close behind.

It wasn't long before they arrived and saw the other Guardians battling the aura of purple darkness that only had glowing eyes and moans coming from within. It was also noted that the more they chopped at the swirling corruption the louder the moans became. What a disapproving scene it was; how could the Guardians not recognize the screams? How could they not see they are hurting those who they were supposed to protect despite the fact they were not among the living anymore?

"Stop," Death ordered while smoke went under the figure and the Reaper soared towards the next ice wave. From the same grey smoke around the feet there emerged a long weapon with a curved blade, which was more widely known as a scythe. This weapon was used to stop the ice blast in its tracks as Death loomed over the Guardians. "Can you not see that you are hurting the children?" Death asked, as if suggesting that they were blind

"Children? There are children here?" Tooth asked, confused and looking around

"I don't see any children, just a monster you're protecting!" Jack accused, figuring that she was turning on them.

"Listen to their cries, their moans every time you cut and maim them, are you so blind?" Death asked, trying to get them to understand. "For every time you cut this monster, he uses a child's soul for protection, he's hurting them, making them suffer to keep his own cowardly soul from being cleansed, observe." after the small speech Death gripped the scythe in its hands and then jumped down towards the edges of the monster where the corruption was more fluid and moving. The scythe went towards the monster at an angle and managed to sever the corruption by bearing down at the thinnest point between the monster and the tendrils of corruption.

The tendril, now chopped off, was wriggling around like a fish that had just been fished out of water and constantly searching for its host. Then The Reaper pointed the scythe downwards and then, slowly, cut at the shadow and peeled it away. What was revealed under the corruption was a shadowy figure of a child, trembling in fear and whimpering

"Oh no..." was all Jack was able to say when he realized just what it was that they were doing "I-I didn't know..."

"Of course you didn't," Death said harshly "But no time to fix your mistakes, hit at where the attachments are weakest; I'll go for the main body" ordered the Grim Reaper. There wasn't much time to ask questions or say anything since Death was already on the way to slaughter... or at least purify the darkness before them. Because the other Guardians were busy with rescuing the dead children they had little time to observe how the Grim Reaper worked. Though maybe it was for the best, over the years who know just what types of execution have been performed and modified over the years. That and the smoke coming from beneath The Reaper's feet was obscuring their sight. Still it was good for them that the monster couldn't see them either.

* * *

Despite the countless times they had to cut at the monster the Guardians were finally able to rescue all the shadow children that had been used to protect the monster that was hurting them. They did not do much of anything though. They sobbed and trembled in fear for their lives, causing the Guardians to even wonder if they knew that they were dead or not.

"Poor little ankle biters..." Bunny said, feeling pity for them even if he probably couldn't imagine what they were feeling at that moment.

"At least they're safe now." Tooth said with a bit of relief with Sandy nodding with agreement

"But they have to go to the Spirit World right?" Jack asked. They all nodded, though North was the first one to speak

"Yes that is the case. But we must wait till Death is done with monster." he told them. The Guardians looked forward just in time to see the haze around them clear enough for them to spot Death on the shoulders of the monster. The corruption around it had been peeled away enough to gain access to the top of the bulk of purple that still needed to be peeled away to effectively get the center piece out of the thing. So it wasn't surprising to see Death put the scythe under it and then jump off the shoulders and letting the strength of the fall decapitate the monster and revealing the wavering purple darkness within it. Everything fell from it and Death stood behind the darkness with scythe in hand

"Time to atone for your sins," the Reaper told him while gripping the scythe tightly. The scythe was raised high but before it could strike the corrupted soul he swiped his hand at Death, who dodged but gave the soul the time to make a break for it. The Guardians tried to stop him but were almost blasted away by the power he was emitting "You cannot escape Death!" cried the Reaper who, while using the grey cloud, sped towards the specter that had vanished within the school's halls.

It was unfortunate that despite the chase soon he had disappeared and all that were left were shadows that he could be hiding in.

"Ha! We make him run for life!" North said proud that the monster felt so intimidated that he had to run off and think of a new strategy.

"No we just made let the mongrel get a good hidin' spot." Bunny told the Russian.

"He's going to turn the school against us soon," Death said, who was before them and looking around with the scythe out. Then said scythe got closer to its owners body as if ready to defend "He's coming." was about the only thing that could be said before a piercing scream went through the halls and glass that had been intact before were now bursting into hundreds of shards around them. It was rapidly coming towards them with glass getting faster and faster exploding into a million pieces as a wind of sound blew fiercely at them.

"Bloody hell." Bunny said as he put his paws on his ears to protect his hearing from getting totally annihilated. The rest of the Guardians also kept their hands on their ears since the sound was so high pitched.

"Could he BE any louder?!" Jack asked, sounding a bit aggravated

"It's just a distraction!" Death yelled despite being hunched down a little bit, seemingly affected by the sound must like everyone else. But unlike everyone Death had a scythe put in front so to defend from whenever the corruption decided to attack. Of course only putting the scythe in front could do so much and before Death could prepare to move the corrupted soul manifested itself to the side and came charging towards Death. It was unfortunate but the Reaper was unable to move fast enough to avoid it; thankfully allies weren't too far behind.

"Oh no you don't!" called a thick Australian accent before something went flying into the darkness; batting away the corrupted soul and protecting the Grim Reaper. Because of this the Reaper's head turned slightly towards the Easter Bunny though didn't utter anything before turning attention back to the soul that had been pushed back.

The black cloud formed again under Death's feet and then went after the soul with haste and before it could react, the scythe bore down on it and clutched the purple shadows around it. Then, without hesitance, Death started to peel of the shadows so to get to the core of the problem. This so happened to be the fact that the shadow form was purple and the eyes glowed yellow when they shouldn't glow at all.

"May purification begin." Death said softly, holding the scythe horizontally before twisting it that caused a clicking sound and a blade to appear at the other end. Then the Reaper revealed the weapon to be in two parts connected by a chain that was used to whirl one of the blades around. Then, suddenly, Death let go of the blade and it went around the corrupted soul and lifted it up at one end. This was repeated with the other blade, meaning that the soul was ready to be purified without much resistance. Even the strongest soul could not be unbound since the more you struggle and hit at the chain the stronger it became.

"He looks like he's in pain." Tooth said as she watched with everyone else

"Well he deserves it, after what he did to those children," Jack replied as he stared intensely at Death and the soul. "Hey, Death! Be sure to kill the bastard after you're done getting information from him!" the spirit cried, causing the Reaper before him to turn around and the dark blue cloak whirling slightly.

"He deserves no such thing;" was the response that was given "Just because he did those terrible things does not mean it is his fault or that he should be damned because of it."

"Are you _kidding_ me?! He MURDERED those children! Only someone _evil_ could have done that! He should be destroyed so to prevent even more murders on children." why was this so hard? Why was Death defending this monster? Why was he siding with evil?!

"He did it out of influence, not because of his own free will. No one is pure evil."

"Prove it then." Jack said with his arms crossed.

"...Foolish child." was all Death managed to say before putting a hand up and going towards the emblem on the cloak. It was simple, a silver crescent moon with a blue orb resting within though it was hard to see with such little lighting and the moon barely being out. But nonetheless Death grabbed the orb and took it from the emblem before turning around and talking in a language that wasn't of Earth origin. This was the trigger to cause the orb to glow blue and symbols going around it before they surround the now roaring corrupted soul. The blue orb soon followed and when it was at the chest that was when it shone its brightest, enveloping the soul entirely so that no darkness could be seen.

But that was as much of a show as anyone was going to get considering that when the light faded the corruption was gone and all that was left was the small form of a shadow child. Considering this meant that the soul was no long a threat the chains removed themselves and brought them back to their holder where it became a single one bladed scythe once again along with the orb going back to its resting place of its owner.

"It is complete, this child can do no harm anymore." said the Reaper as the scythe disintegrated into the grey cloud and Death was left with the shadow child.

"... Okay I'm confused, what the hell just happened?" Jack asked, not sure what was going on and why there was a shadow child in front of them.

"The corruption from the soul was removed... so now the soul is back to its purified state," Tooth told him. She could see confusion on his face and elaborated on what she meant "Each person, when they die, goes back to being in their most purified state of life. For humans, at least, this means that they form back into when they were children, when they were innocent and pure... ignorant of the world" Tooth explained. She looked to the shadow child who was shivering and, out of being frightened of the looming figure before him, ran towards the Guardians and went behind Tooth. He then began talking in a language

" m'I-I deracs..." he said with a whimper as he was shaking

"T'nod eb diarfa, I tsuj deen ruoy pleh." Death told him, slowing walking to the boy.

"On-n!" he screeched, trying to hide even further behind Tooth "On truh..."

"On truh... on truh lliw emoc ot uoy, I esimorp." with the last words the child came from behind Tooth slightly and finally began to talk with Death.

"If I wasn't confused before, hell I am now." Jack said as he and the Guardians kept back while the two talked.

"It is... hard to speak to those who are dead, and even harder to understand, but once you get the gist of it it's easy." North said to him. Jack had his doubts, but he didn't have much of an argument about it since he knew nothing of the language at all, so he kept his mouth shut about it till Death was done with the kid. "So, what news?" North asked when Death came back over to them

"The child remembers very little. "The child remembers very little. He just remembers that he stopped taking his meds and he suddenly got the urge to kill like in his video games" said the Reaper, only looking back at the child for a moment before back to them.

"What about that Fearlin'? Did he say anythin' about it?" Bunny asked

"He told me that he vaguely remembers a 'bad shadow' that would pop up every once in a while and would tell him to do stuff. I think that it may have influence him to stop taking his medicine and by that time he was easily influenced to do its bidding." a very grim speculation, but without any leads it was the only thing they could do.

"I guess back to the drawing board huh?" Jack asked with a sigh, hoping that they were going to be able to get this over with so he could cause more fun with Jamie and his friends.

"Patience is the best thing to do right now, no sense in rushing the inevitable," Death told him, causing them all to nod in agreement, even Jack though he did so reluctantly. "I will wait for another death to occur and hopefully that will be a lead"

"You? Did you forget about us? We're here to help you know." Tooth said, going to Death

"That is right, Manny wants us all to work together; so we do what Man in Moon says." North added. Death tried to argue back but Jack, who had had enough of this nonsense, opened his big mouth

"Hey we didn't CHOOSE to help you, we did this because the Moon told us so and whatever the Moon says goes. So if I was you, Mr. Death, I'd cut us some slack and let us help you out." he said with his arms crossed.

"... Mr. Death...?" was all that the Reaper was able to get out of that sentence, though Jack couldn't understand why.

"I call it how I see it okay? It's not like its any skin off my bones... no offense." he 'apologized'.

"..." one could only wonder how the hell Death was taking all this and why it had to deal with an immature seventeen year old who all he did was have fun all the time.

"You really know nothin' do you Frostbite?" Bunny asked

"What did I say? I was just stating the obvious!"

"Can't you see for yourself? Or did no one tell ya that-" Bunny was about to say but stopped as his ears went up. "Uh oh, we got company" he said as he turned his head towards the front of the school

"Put your hands up!" cried a voice as a flashlight went onto them. When the Guardians looked forward they saw the police with guns in the air and waving flashlights around them. "What are you doing here? You looking to steal off the dead?!" asked one of them

"H-How can they see us?!" Jack asked, taking his staff out and ready to aim

"They can't... well, all but one of us." Tooth said, looking to the Reaper

"... Oh great" Jack said, not believing that they could see Death that could make this situation even more difficult.

"Turn around where I can see you," the officer said and, as ordered, the Reaper slowly turned around, the dark blue cloak barely lifting up from the ground while the emblem in the chest shone brightly from the light. "Take off the hood and let us look at your face," was the next order, but Death did not say anything and, instead, had the cloud come beneath, lifting the Reaper into the air slightly. "H-Hey no tricks! Wait; STOP!" called the officer but before any more action could be taken Death had lifted in the air and then had the cloud zip off towards the back of the school. The Guardians could only watch as the police chased after, wondering how in the world it was going to end.

"One of the many curses of bein' Death... almost everyone can see ya." Bunny said as he looked almost like he pitied the Reaper.

"Even so, we should help, would be bad if the Grim Reaper were to get taken." North said, though before they could say anything else gun shots were heard. The quickest of the bunch, Bunny, heard this with his ears shot up before turning his head to the back of the school where he could hear all sorts of running and shouts that were backed up by gun fire.

"Sounds like trouble!" Jack said as he flew toward the sound with the rest following behind though Bunny was the one to get their first since he had an advantage with his speed. But what they found was little to nothing at all though it was something to worry about.

"Oh goodness..." Tooth said with a sad voice as she and the others looked upon the ground and saw puddles of blood head into the field of trees and the distant voices and lights from the cops searching for, unbeknownst to them, Death itself.

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**Author: **Well I'm glad that I got another chapter up! I would have gotten it up earlier but my friend **Zerowing21**has been beta reading my chapters and so I thank him for that x3. Anyway I'm almost done with the third chapter so that SHOULD be coming up soon as well so look forward to that!


	3. The More You Know!

Fragile Moon

Chapter 3: The More You Know!

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**Author:** Welcome back guys, hope you all are enjoying the fan fiction so far owo!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from Rise of the Guardians or Guardians of Childhood. The only thing I do own is this story and the Ocs that come with it.

* * *

I had cursed to myself day in and day out as I waited for a few days for the cursed police to leave the school and let me finish my job. Sure I got as much as I could out of the shadow child who caused the whole slaughter, but there was another job for me to finish: to put the souls of the children to rest. Yes I was not able to really go back into the Spirit World till I was done, but I could at least save these children from wandering the abandoned school till this endless search was over. MiM would understand... right? Looking up I could see the crescent moon in the sky that had gotten a bit bigger over the days; then again it had been about three days since I was last at this school... or was it four? I couldn't really remember.

But that was not the point; I had enough strength to go back to the school without any big worry other than the police still being there. Did they really think I would rob the dead? I mean yes they didn't know I was the Grim Reaper but there was no way there were any more corpses and even if they were I wouldn't be standing in the hallway by myself. Besides I was sure I was scaring the shit out of them since they were nervous and, to them, I was the only solitary figure in the dark and, presumed, haunted hallways of the school.

"So far so good..." I said to myself as I looked from the trees and at the school. There were no lights and I didn't see any police cars, though that didn't mean that there were any in the bushes or something spying and watching. But I had to try my luck. Though I had to say the good thing about it all was that the Guardians weren't there... or at least I couldn't sense them anyway. I had enough on my plate as it was and I didn't have time to deal with their teamwork when I had a job to do. Granted it has been a while since I had been with them but still... in this stressful time trying to track down one Fearling possessed spirit I didn't need any more stress, especially from the one called Jack Frost.

He, in my own opinion, was a moron. He had given little thought to his life for a measly three hundred years and then Man in the Moon decided he was Guardian worthy! Him? A Guardian?! That was the most preposterous and idiotic thing I had heard in my life and it didn't help that he seemed to take it with such a carefree attitude!

'_Calm down... breathe... find your center plane of existence..._' I chanted in my head, knowing that it was not time to rant to myself about how I believed that MiM had chosen poorly. The child did defeat Pitch after all so maybe he was worth something... even if he did take his job less than seriously.

My hidden eyes then turned back to the school, which was absent other than the shadows of children calling for their parents and wanting to go home since they were hurting. I could only feel sorry for them; they only had half a mind about what had happened to them and some may not even realize that they were dead. But that was my job, to guide them from being chained to the Earth to the Spirit Realm where they could grow up and not be stuck in limbo for all eternity. So to get them back to the Spirit World by gathering them together and letting me lead them I can finally be done with the school and move on to any leads that may come up.

_'Let's get this over with quickly_' I thought to myself before making my way to the school as quietly and quickly as possible. Thankfully I didn't have to worry about tripping or stumbling around this time around, so me getting around in the school should have been very quiet. Tricky part was being able to guide the children to me without people seeing lights and calling the police again. Though I was sure that it was around two or three am in the morning so it should have been safe...

"Thgin ydal..." called a small voice, causing me to look towards the small voice that had called me. It was the small boy I had talked to the other night.

"Yes, little one?" I asked in the tongue of the spirit.

"Have you come back to ask me more about the bad shadow?" he asked me. I shook my head.

"No little one, I know you have given me all that you can. I have come to guide you and the rest of the children back home," I told him.

"Does that mean I'll get to see mommy? I... I have something to tell her..." he said with a saddened tone of voice.

"Of course you'll get to see mommy, I'll make sure that the two of you will meet each other to where I take you and the others" I assured him. I felt bad because I was sure that, as he was under the influence, he probably did something with his own family. But there was no time to pity the shadow child; it was time to guide the children back to the Spirit World before continuing on my search. "It is time that thou children be guided to the next world." I explained as I brought out my scythe only to have it glow and change into another form. It was a long pole that was arched at the top with a lantern at the end of it. The lantern glowed a low, yet vibrant, light.

Seeing the glow from within the building, I saw the shadow children rise from their hiding places and come toward the light. I remembered how I used to be amazed at this when I started to do so, but as I grew in experience I was no longer affected by this light... or at least I didn't seem to be. Through the years I had gotten colder and less sociable, but I had my own reasons that no one had business to know about.

"Do not be afraid, little ones, I am here to guide you," I called out to the few that were reluctant. Though I do not like to rush things as delicate as this ritual, I was sure there would only be a matter before I was caught again by the police. "Shall I sing to you? Will that calm thy fears?" I asked, though there was no response given to me "Then let me sing to thee, sweet children," I said softly. I then took a deep breath so to sooth the children with my voice. But before I could, my ears twitched and I stopped myself, turning around to see what I was sensing.

I couldn't see at first since it was dark and nothing seemed out of place even in a trashed building like the school. I made the lantern turn back into a scythe and prepared myself in case of an attack. But soon, before my curiosity could search the premise that alerted my senses, I found I had no time to do such a thing. I saw a light blind me before hearing several shots ring out as I felt warm and wet liquid on my body and clothes. The last thing I remember before losing consciousness was the cold winter wind caressing my body.

* * *

"It was good thing you came when you did Jack," North commented after the winter spirit came with Death cloaked in red blood. It caused him alarm and told his Yetis to take the Reaper to the infirmary that was within the building.

"I did what I could, besides it was heartbreaking just to watch Death being riddled with bullets while just doing nothing, even if I don't like him," he said. North looked at the boy with a questioning face

"Jack, I get that you may not have been put up to speed but-" before North could finish his sentence a flash of grey fur came into the room.

"What's the problem now?" asked Bunnymund, looking around with his ears twitching before looking to North. "I can only take bein' called so many times in one week"

"Ah Bunny! Good to see you arrive!" North said happily, forgetting what he was going to say to Jack.

"Bunny? What's he doing here?" Jack asked, a bit surprised at the Easter Bunny's appearance.

"I called him of course! I thought he'd want to be here," North responded, causing confusion in both of them "Ah right, Jack, why don't you check on guest while I tell Bunny the situation" he told his fellow Guardian.

"Yea... sure" Jack said as he floated away to where the infirmary was... though he had no clue where it was so he asked one of the Yetis who pointed him in the right direction "Thanks Phil" he said before flying to the room. As he stood at the wooden door he breathed and calmed himself since their last encounter he wasn't the best of meetings. "I might as well get this over with" he said with a small sigh before he began to open the door "Hey Mr. Reaper I know we got off the wrong foot and all when we met but-" he started to say but stopped in mid-sentence when he looked in the room.

As he stood in the door way he saw, standing next to the bed, a young girl with long and wavy midnight blue hair accompanied by pointed ears. But the thing that caused him to freeze was the fact that she was half naked. Her upper half was almost bare except a few bandages around her arm and chest. And as he stared at her in an awkward silence she slowly turned her head and stared at him with soul piercing silver eyes.

* * *

"Guest? What guest?" Bunny asked after Jack had left "What's this all about North? There has to be a reason you called me here again when it hasn't even been a bloody week" he told him. The Easter Bunny looked around and saw that neither Sandy nor Tooth was there so it was something that wasn't Guardian business. North took a deep breath before he actually answered

"Well... Nyx tried to go back to elementary school we were at few days before. Unfortunately it did not turn out well and she got shot several time," he started to say but was cut off.

"What?! Is she okay North?! Where is she?!" he asked in haste, making North put his hands up.

"Whoa Bunny... you need to relax, she is fine. Jack was able to rescue her and bring her here. She's resting in infirmary right now" he said but Bunnymund had no time to sit around. Immediately the rabbit dashed towards the medical bay and into the infirmary room where the one called Nyx was being held. When he got there... well let's just say he was a bit shocked at what he was seeing.

"Nyx!" he called as he got to the door but when he got there he saw Jack Frost standing in the doorway and, in front of him, was a half-naked girl standing there with long dark wavy hair. Bunny could feel himself well up inside with an emotion he long thought would be buried within his tough exterior of a Tai-Chi master. Because of this raging emotion he grabbed the back of Jack's hoodie and dragged him out of the room and shut the door.

"Whoa! Easy there Cottontail" he said, a bit flustered and confused on what he just saw "You don't have to be so rough!"

"What the bloody hell were you doin'?! You don't just walk in when a sheila's changin'!" he said with a stern voice.

"Hey, I didn't know she was going to be in there! I was expecting Death not a little girl!" Jack said

"That 'little girl' you're talkin' about IS Death; SHE'S the Grim Reaper ya dill!" he told him, which cause Jack to be silent for just a moment. But it only lasted one moment before he started to chuckle and then full blown laugh. Bunny crossed his arms "And WHAT exactly do you find so funny about this?" he asked, feeling like he was about to lash out in anger any second. He shouldn't feel this way; he should just be irritated, not angry to the point where he'd lash out at Jack because he found this situation funny. How the bloody hell was being yelled at about 'peeping' at a girl changing remotely earning a chuckle?!

"W-well that a little GIRL happens to be D-Death!" he said in between laughs "And to think people a-are AFRAID of her" he added. Unfortunately this only made Bunny angrier

"You best not underestimate her, mate, or you'll regret it. She's been doin' her job for over five hundred years and has more experience fightin' than you do. So you better not insult her!" he said, getting in Jack's face before easing up with a stern look on his features. It was one thing to have Nyx be seen half naked by someone, but then to have someone INSULT her on top of it was inexcusable to him. He knew her abilities probably better than anyone and she was someone you did not want to get on her bad side. He couldn't help but think how ignorant Jack was even though it wasn't his fault and that he would need to be brought up to speed so he could understand everything.

"Hey lighten up Bunny, I was just baffled about what she looks like. I imagined she'd be really tall and a skeleton... and a guy" he said, trying to defend himself.

"Not everyone looks or acts the way others portray them, be sure to remember that," said the Easter Bunny before he went away from Jack and entered the infirmary. When he entered the young girl known as Death was finally fully clothed, shoulder guards and all, and was fixing the neck part of her tunic when Bunny came in. He wasn't sure what it was but it wasn't any of his business and he knew that even if he asked she would not tell him. "North told me that you were shot, several times in fact" he told her

"What of it?" she asked, not looking at him but still dawning that cold expression along with the monotone voice that she spoke in while putting on her gauntlets.

"You were SHOT, do you know what could have happened if Jack wasn't there?!" Bunny asked her, a bit frustrated that she didn't care for the wounds inflicted on her.

"They were just bullets, mere bullets can't kill Death. You shouldn't worry about something so trivial anyway... or worry at all. Mind your own business" she told him.

"I know that, Nyx. I'm talkin' about how the humans could have taken you and done who knows what to ya! And I am mindin' my own business, I'm just tellin' you to be careful!" he said. He knew that Death could not be taken by humans, if she was then a lot of souls were going to be trapped on Earth unless they rescued her.

"That is not necessary, I can handle myself fine" Nyx told him, causing him to sigh mentally

"She's right Bunny, she has power to protect herself" North said as he came into the room

"Yea yea of course she does, that's why her body got a barrage of bullets and probably would have been done for if yours truly didn't step in" Jack said with a smile. "You really need to learn how to say thank you" he told her, though Nyx just narrowed her eyes in annoyance

"Your ignorance is your greatest weakness" she replied back to him

"And your seriousness is yours. Really lighten up for once will you? I'm sure it wouldn't kill you to crack a smile once in a while" Jack told her. There was an obvious dislike of each other and the longer they stared at each other the more the air tensed.

"Now now, no sense in fighting" North said as he went to Nyx and handed her the cloak, which caused her to nod before taking it and putting it on her shoulders. "Ah yes we have yet to have official introduction yes?" North asked after realizing that despite Jack already meeting Nyx beforehand there was no actual introduction to the two. "This is Nyx Nocturne, she, as you know, is Grim Reaper and currently guides souls of the dead to Spirit World. And Nyx, this is Jack Frost newest addition to Guardians, Guardian of Fun!" the man said proudly.

"I noticed..." she said "It amazes me that a child like him got picked as a Guardian," she commented

"He is relatively new as well as young, but he is a good Guardian. Manny was wise to choose him for his new strength helped us defeat Pitch and protect the children of the world" North told her. Bunnymund looked to the large man before he spoke

"North, I think she gets the idea-" he told him but Nyx cut him off

"I do, and I still do not see how he, of all people, was chosen for such a role" she told them. This caused Jack to get closer to her, towering over her since he was more than a head taller than her.

"Such a big accusations by someone so small. But I hate to break it to you but I was the one that was picked and I became a Guardian, not you," he said. Bunny did not like where this was going "And you have no say who and who can't be a Guardian, only Man in the Moon can and last I checked he chose me. So I'd show more respect to a Guardian if I were you," he told her, his face getting into hers with a cocky grin. She gave him no emotion whatsoever though Bunny was sure that it was time for Jack to stop or else something bad was going to happen.

"Jack that's enough" he told him "Don't go rubbin' it in that you're a Guardian to everyone ya meet"

"Oh c'mon Bunny what's she going to do, kill me? No one would be bold enough to-" Jack started to say, but in a blink of an eye there were sounds of glass breaking and a large shard flying at him. It nearly cut his head off but he managed to get out of the way in time. But only to be up against a wall with a scythe blade only a few inches from the right of his face and embedded in the wall. It was like she was actually TRYING to murder him.

"You are too slow, you'd be dead right now if I really wanted to kill you" she told him. It was pretty evident at this point that Jack probably thought Nyx was bat shit insane.

"W-what the hell?! You just don't RANDOMLY throw glass and a SCYTHE at someone in the middle of a conversation! How the hell did you even make the glass break anyway?!" he cried.

"A Guardian must be prepared, must be able to fight at all times. If you lack even that basic knowledge then in my eyes you are no Guardian, just a child who naively thinks having a title as 'Guardian' makes him a fierce warrior worthy of such a title," she told him. She then grabbed her scythe and pulled it out of the wall before she left the room. "Nephelae" she called and then a grey mist came around her that was revealed to be the cloud she had a few nights before.

"Have to go so soon? You should stay and visit for a while" North told her, but she did nothing but keep her back to him and answer in her monotone voice.

"I cannot rest, the longer I do the farther away that Shadow Fearling will get, I must keep going"

"You'll tell us when you find him... right?" Bunny asked her, hoping she'd answer that. But the only thing she did was turn her head slightly back to them before the cloud went completely around her, and she was gone.

* * *

**Author:** Yes I got this up pretty much right next to the last chapter. But my good friend AnimeGirl144 (aka Kyra) beta read it for me and corrected my mistakes (most of them anyway) and so I thank her for it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next one!


	4. A Most Wonderful Time

Fragile Moon

Chapter 4: A Most Wonderful Time

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**Author:** Yep, yet another chapter has come up. I'm glad I'm getting a steady stream of chapter progression as I go along, it might actually let me finish this fan fiction if I keep going like this!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything from Rise of the Guardians or Guardians of Childhood. The only thing I do own is this story and the Ocs that come with it.

* * *

Jamie Bennett was excited. Christmas was only a few days away, and he was going to have the opportunity to catch Santa Claus in the act of giving presents this year. Sure, he already knew that the jolly man existed, but it didn't make it any less fun trying to catch him on Christmas Eve night. Besides, it was a tradition that he had been doing ever since he could remember so why not?

"Looks like someone's excited," commented a voice from his window, causing the young boy to look over and see his favorite Guardian, Jack Frost, sitting in the window.

"Jack!" he exclaimed, going over to where the spirit was sitting. "What are you doing here?" he asked him.

"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by, maybe make it snow a little," Jack replied. "Hey, you wanna go play?" he asked

"Sure!" Jamie exclaimed before he left his room to go downstairs and get his coat. Jack couldn't help but chuckle; at least there was one person to get his spirits up when he was having a shitty day; or week, in this case. He still wasn't quite sure as to why he cared about Jamie a lot or even why he was just naturally drawn to him. All he knew was that the kid saved his butt more than once and Jack owed it to him and his friends for their part in defeating Pitch in the final moments, as well as bringing back Sandy.

"At least I know who to go to if Pitch comes back," Jack said to himself before he made his way down and outside Jamie's door. It didn't take long at all for the boy to get dressed and soon he was running out the door with his mom calling out for him to be back by dinner time.

"Okay mom!" he cried before running out and being beside Jack. "So what kind of game are we going to do today?" he asked him.

"Hm... well I was thinking of another sled ride through town would be a good way to start off," he said, gaining enthusiasm from the young boy. It was almost the same thing to what happened eight months ago, though this time the boy could see him along with other children in the world.

"Okay! Can we have my friends come too?!" the child asked

"I don't see why not! The more the merrier!" Jack said with a laugh. It made the child happy as both he and Jack went to his friends so that they could all go sledding together. Though Monty was rather scared about the idea and made poor excuses as to why he couldn't go, and both Claude and Caleb said they were busy with being with their parents on errands. But Cupcake and Pippa were still able to come along so it wasn't all for nothing. "Alright, are you all ready?" Jack asked them once they were all on their sleds. "On your mark... get set... GO!" he cried before his magic kicked in and they all went sliding across the ice. It swirled through the town on both the sidewalk and on the streets. But despite the danger, he made sure that they were all safe as he flew by their sides while still making sure they were going really fast.

The ride didn't last more than five minutes and with the kids laughing almost the whole way they were gasping for breath when it was all over. But the smile on their faces made Jack all the happier, which caused the children to be happy in return. They loved Jack, probably even more than they loved the other Guardians for the sheer fact that they could hang out with him daily and they knew he'd always be there for them. Even during the summer and spring he'd come and visit once in a while though he'd quickly have to leave to watch over other children. He was their patron Guardian, the one they were connected to the most if only because of how he often hung out with them.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Jamie exclaimed as he, dizzily, got up from landing on the ground with the other two girls following him.

"It was pretty fun" Pippa said in agreement while smiling as Cupcake agreed with a nod.

"Good, now... what else should we do? Any ideas?" Jack asked, floating around the children.

"How about we build snow men?" Pippa asked.

"Or... or maybe some igloos?" Jamie asked, who got positive feedback on the idea.

"That sounds fun," Cupcake agreed

"That settles it then, let's build some igloos," Jack declared with a bright smile. It didn't take all that much effort for him to make the snow for the igloos and as he watched the kids make them, he couldn't help but be envious. They were having such a simple life and yet he was having to be a Guardian and going all over the place. Of course he couldn't say that he hated it or wished that he hadn't become one. He loved being a Guardian and messing with people, especially the college students and adults since they couldn't see him AND they usually became enraged. It was quite the sight actually. But, in the end, he was sure that maybe he missed his life before he died and that maybe he would have liked to turn back time and play with his sister and their friends.

Of course with how he had been treated lately by Death, or Nyx as he was told a day or so ago, it was part of the reason he became envious and, soon, furious. She had no right to do such a thing to him, he already proved himself to the Man in the Moon by defeating Pitch! Surely he did not have to prove to a little brat that he was worthy of her recognition and respect.

"What's wrong, Jack?" asked Jamie's voice that brought Jack back to the real world.

"Oh nothin' kiddo... just about someone who gets under my skin," he told him

"Like an annoying sibling?" the naive child asked.

"Kind of like that, but more of a pain in the butt who has no respect for me" he told him. Jamie was a bit surprised that there was someone who wouldn't respect Jack

"How can anyone have no respect for you? You're so cool and-and amazing!" Jamie cried.

"I know! And she's serious to boot. If you ask me she needs a few good snowballs to the face so she can cool down" Jack said with a laugh. He thought again of his conversation with Tooth and how it would be a great idea to prank Death and try to make her relax a little. But it also made him wonder why she mentioned Bunny and how he was going to be upset by it. Though she could have very well meant someone else since she did tend to ramble about nonsense and could have been easily confused by her own words.

"Ha! Looks like I win Jamie," said Pippa as she showed off her moderate dome igloo with a prideful smile.

"Darn it!" Jamie huffed, realizing that his talk with Jack had distracted him and that she won the contest, probably putting him in last place too since Cupcake was nearly done with hers. "Oh well, I'll be sure to beat you guys next time!" he told her with a positive attitude.

"I'm sure you will kiddo" Jack said with a chuckle before he started to float in the air "But as much as I hate to leave you all, I've got work to do" he told them. The children whined

"Aw, but you just got here Jack!" Jamie told him

"I know I know, but being a Guardian means that you all can't hog all of the fun for yourselves, you need to share with others. Besides I'm making sure you all have a good white Christmas this year," Jack explained.

"You'll come back soon... right?" the boy questioned.

"Of course! This IS my home after all" Jack told him with a wink "Now you kids go have your fun!" he cried before he flew off with the wind carrying him to wherever he had to go to next. Though as he lifted off, he still couldn't get the conversation with Tooth out of his mind, it was almost as if they were hiding something. That or it was just a misunderstanding and Nyx was just a serious killjoy as he always thought she was. But there was only one way to find out

"Hey Wind! Take me to Tooth's Palace!" he cried, causing the wind to blow profusely; enough so to carry the young man to Tooth's home: Punjam Hy Loo.

* * *

For Nicholas St. North, or North for short, it was that time of year again, where he would make the final preparations for Christmas before getting into his attire and giving presents to all the children of the world in one night. To him it was the most important night of the year and he believed that everyone agreed on that aspect, even Bunny. Yes, the Pooka often stated that Easter was just as important, but the Russian always thought it was just Bunny's pride that he kept saying that for and nothing else. Though even with such an attitude that he would willingly gloat in one's face about how great his holiday was he was still a kind man at heart; a kind man who was full of wonder.

"Sleigh in good condition, yes?" he asked as he walked towards the red transportation that he so often used. The yeti next to him uttered in a strange language but it was nothing short of a piece of cake for him to understand. "Good! Then we are ready to go!" he exclaimed, very excited about the joy and wonder he was about to put into the world once again. This day, this Christmas Eve, was always what made the real magic happen, and he prepared for it throughout the year.

So without any delay at all, the Guardian of Wonder went on his journey that he made one night every year. It was the same thing and nothing short of the man's excitement when the children wake up and are overjoyed at the presents that were given to them. To know the kind of wonder they will have made North smile all the more as he rode to one of the last houses on that night. It was, of course, Jamie Benett whom was one of the last ones; the very child who was the Last Light of belief in the world when Pitch attacked.

When North entered the home he saw the young boy sleeping on the couch near the Christmas tree. He had a flashlight next to him, causing the large man to chuckle softly. Even if the boy already knew of his existence and even knew what he looked like, it seemed like he still wanted to play the little game of catching Santa. Well, he was going to be disappointed! But it was fun to think that there was still the tradition of the boy trying to catch him and failing even if they somewhat knew each other.

North quietly chuckled to himself before he quickly put out all of the presents for Jamie and his family and making sure that he ate all the cookie and milk before leaving after putting a candy cane in Jamie's hand. It was a little jester to show that he was there and that the child had failed, once again, to catch him in his line of work.

With that small detour out of the way North packed up and went to his sleigh, ready to go back home and get a good night's rest before making new ideas for next year. But as he lifted up into the air it didn't take long before a wind most foul caught up in his nose with a horrendous stench. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one who smelled it since his reindeer were getting agitated and becoming disorderly.

"Whoa!" North cried, but it did little good as the animals made a beeline for land and went roughly on the snowy hill. The landing caused North to tumble to the bottom of the sleigh as it landed in a small German town and off course from getting home. He mumbled something in Russian before standing up and looking around. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that he had crashed into the middle of a German graveyard. Even though Christmas was cheerful as it was there was no denying that landing in a graveyard filled with beautiful snow still had the eeriness that came with the cold silence of a place filled with the dead.

Even the reindeer were fidgeting and restless, calling in distress of the situation and ready to pull out once again, if only to get away from that place. "Yes yes, we get going now," North said to them, trying to calm their nerves as he situated himself and gathered the reigns "Hee ya!" he called as he made a cracking sound to shove them off. But as he tried to get the sleigh off the ground it got caught on something and it dropped again, making North sigh. He should have known that it wasn't going to be that easy; it seemed that there was always something that came up at the last minute that prevented him to get back home when he wanted to.

Before he could make a move the foul smell came around again, the smell, he swore, smelt almost like rotten flesh and decay. "Otvratitel'no! That smell!" he exclaimed as he looked around, seeing the shadows shift every so often in the light of the moon. Despite the odor in the air North still knew that he had to get the sleigh unstuck from whatever was keeping it from moving.

Down and around North got to the back of his vehicle and lifted it up as much of he could. Thankfully it didn't take that much effort though the jolly man couldn't help but be curious as to what was sticking out of the ground. So, he removed the snow from the mound and saw that there was a single mound that was sticking out of the earth at the back of the cemetery. "Interesting..." he murmured as he looked curiously at the old burial that was even older than he was. As an adventurer in his glory-filled youth, North could not pass this opportunity to explore this ancient burial place. So, he dug.

It didn't take all that long till North felt something hard in the burial site. "What's this?" he asked himself curiously as he started to wipe the dirt away to find a wooden box that had been contained within the burial site. It was surrounded by bone fragments and part of a skull along with just pieces of degraded objects that are barely recognizable due to deterioration. But North did not take any heed to the nearly destroyed artifacts; he was more interested in what may lay within the box he found. "Interesting!" he said to himself, feeling the wonder stir up within him, the adventurous spirit he once had back in his youth! Yes, he felt like he was the Bandit King once again!

But he could not open it there; his reindeer were already getting restless and were eager to get on home. So North picked the box up, covered the mound once again, and then got into his sleigh; patting the box next to him before he made his way home. There he'd dismiss any of the Yetis or Elves trying to get his attention and went into his office, finally able to have time for himself.

"This should be good~" he said to himself as he started to find a way to open the box before him. You could almost see him like a child opening their Christmas gift, the excitement in his eyes never left for a second. Even when he finally opened the box he was hesitant, not wanting to fully open it and lose his sense of wonder and excitement. But his curiosity was too much and without much of a second thought after that moment he ripped the top of the box open.

The moment he did a wind blew heavily, bringing along with that foul stench that seemed to be haunting him ever since he went over the German town. North paid no heed, though, and just blew the air away and took a look inside. Frankly there wasn't much that he found. Just and old torn robe, some rope and a very rusted dagger that seemed to have belonged to whoever was buried there. "That... very anti-climactic" North said to himself as he picked through the items, none of which really stood out except maybe a simple wooden pendent. "Quaint..." he commented with a small nod before dropping it into the box that triggered a little critter to emerge from the folds of clothing.

Seeing the spider surprised North since he didn't expect it to suddenly come out like that. But then again it wasn't unusual since spiders often took home in objects like boxes or cans in order to live and raise future children. Despite them being pests the Russian did not attempt to kill the creature, mostly because before he could even try it had scurried off into some part of his office, probably being startled by the light. It didn't matter, considering how cold it was around the place; it probably was going to die anyway.

"Dinkle!" North yelled, causing several elves to come into place "Fetch me some cookies" he ordered, causing the elves to clumsily run into themselves before they went off to get North his favorite food. He decided that once he had some food in his belly he was going to get into his night garments and get some sleep, he did have a long night after all.

* * *

**Author: **Well I have to say this chapter is a bit shorter than what I, and perhaps you, are used to. But this is mostly filler anyway so I don't see much of a big deal out of it. Besides the next chapter will have a bit of juicy information that will help the plot along owo Also for those who loved my Curse of the Snake Demons fan fiction I have finally gotten my ass in gear a little bit with the first chapter of it. Considering I have like... three papers to do along with exams coming up I'll be a little constricted though. But I should be able to make some time for it owo!


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